Apparatus for converting tow to top



Oct. 29, 1946. J. B. RUMsEY AAPPAM'I'US FOR CONVERTING Tow To TP Filed March 18, 19.45 2 Sheets-Sheerl l INVENTOIL BY A ATTRMEZ Ott. 29, 1946. J, B- RUMSEY 2,410,307 I APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING TOW TO TOP Filed March 18, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'X m --l-H-z I, i tb. l I i l E l L i l i L l l I l L g ggxl 3. a l u.. L s

l l l 4l N5= l l| I I wl; S' l lu I i, *e l l l i 1 I I l x L I INVENTOR.

A TTORNEX Patented Oct. 29, 1946 YUNITED snrrssA PATENT OFFICE N Joseph Bt. Rumsey,

E; I. du; Pont de Westwood, N. J., assignor to Nemours- &1Company, Wilmington, Del.,` a corporation of Delaware Application March 18, 1943,?-Serial No. 479,55l

(Cl.` 1`9f-1) 3 Claims.

This invention relates to an apparatus for converting a tow to a top without destroying the continuity of thetowjand sliver and the substantial parallelism ofthe fibers.

Herein the expression tow is intended to cover' a bundle of continuous iilaments in substantially parallel relationship. Also, herein, the expression sliver is intended to cover thestructure formed when the continuous iilaments of the tow are severed into iibers of predetermined lengths; Also, herein, the expression top is intended to cover the product resultingv from drawing the sliver.v

Prior to this invention, a tow was passed through a drafting frame-wherein the speed of the` drafting rollers was'such asf to' haphazardly break the laments into relatively'short, irregular lengths to form a slivencontinuous with the'tw and without destroying the, substantial paralleb ism of the nbers. Y In this procedure, frequently many of the continuous iilaments .were not broken and it was impossible to convert'thelaments into nbers of predetermined lengths.

An object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for directly and continuously. converting a tow to a topv formed of fibers' of predetermined lengths without destroying the. continuity of the sliver'andztow and the'isubstantial.parallelr ism of the fibers; A Y

Another object of this invention is to'provide an apparatus for directly. and continuously; convertiing a tow to atop by cutting the towpacoordingto a predetermined pattern, to form' asliiver ci. b'e'rs of predetermined lengths and 'instaggered relationship, without destroyingtl're continuity' offt'he sliver and tow and the substantialparallelism of the fibers.

In general, the objects of this invention. are obtained by providing knives, arranged according. to

a predetermined pattern, on the gill orY faller bars ,of a standard gill drafting frame 4so that when the tow is fed to the gill drafting frame (provided with the knife arrangement ashereinbeforemenitioned) the knives `wilLin accordance with the pattern of' the arrangement of theknives; ,sever the iilamentsnthroughout the length ofthe tow to produce a slivercomposedf of nbersoi. predetermined lengths, without destroying theconti'- Inuit'y'of theV tow andthe sliver andthe substantial parallelism of the fibers. Simultaneously with thev cutting ofthe filaments into fiber-sof predetermined lengths, the sliver isu drafted (elongated or drawnldown `to a, predetermined size in` which the substantial. continuity, -ofljthe 2 sliverl and parallelism `of the fibers, aremaintained.

In. general, the knives are arranged on the gill bars to effect a staggeredV cutting so that the bers are in staggered relationship. Theknives may be arranged in a diagonal, broken diagonal, triangular, broken triangular, etc., pattern as'desire'd. The knives are also disposed at predetermined positions in the selected pattern in accord.- ance'with the length of fiber desired.

The drawing frame is preferably also provided with a condenser or trumpet of either the rotary or stationary type to receive the top from the drawing'rollsand direct said top to a pair'of condensing rollsA The condensing'rolls compact and flatten the top and'deliver it to a suitable receptaclesuch as a berboard can, which is given-'an oscillatorymovement to permit packing of the top therein. Alternatively, the can may be station ary; and-the topdeliver'ed thereto from the draftlng frame i may be compressed by appropriate means, such'asan intermittently acting reciproeating plunger.: Optionally, a guide, such as a trough, may be provided intermediate the con- ,densingrolls and receiving receptacle. In some instances Ait may be desirable to dispense,A with the receiving'can and to impart afalse twist to the top, for instance by a rotating trumpet, and directly winditup as a ball warp. i -In ordertomore fully explain the invention, reference will now be had to the'accompanying vdrawings*forming a part of this specification and v whereinanfillustrative embodiment of the invenspecific tow,` for convenience .tion is shown, and wherein :V

Figurel, isa side elevation of a gill drafting frame (with the gill bar conveyer screws and driving mechanismsomitted for clarity) embodying the features of this invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the apparat-usshown in- Figure l, particularly showing thekni-ves arranged in a triangular pattern; Figures 3, 4; and 5 are partial front elevations showing diiierent` means of securing the knives Ato the gill bars;

Figure 6 is aY partial perspective of another means of securing the knives to the gill bars; and Figure '7 is a diagrammatic arrangement oith'e bars. rIhough. the invention. is not. restricted to any it will be described in connection with rayon to f Referring now -to` the drawings; whereinlike reference numeralsdesignate likeparts, the ref erence` numeral 2 designates aY plurality ofends o rayonltow suppliedY from any suitable source fC, etc., is made 1/i. `staple fibers and the degree of staggering also ldepend on the relative speeds o f the rolls 5, 6, 1 and E, and Athe gill vbed I0,'which can be adjusted (not shown) and which pass through a converging guide 4 in their passage to the gill drafting frame. The gill drafting frame comprises the usual retaining rolls which, in the form shown, comprise a driven roll 5 and a heavy or weighted iloating roll 6 cooperating therewith. The drawing rolls comprise a driven roll 'I and a heavy or weighted floating roll v8 cooperating therewith. The drawing rolls 'I and 8 are driven so that the peripheral speed thereof is higher than the peripheral speed of the retaining rolls 5 and 6, whereby the desired draft may be obtained. In the instant invention, satisfactory results have been obtained when the ratio of the peripheral speed of the retaining rolls to the peripheral speed of the drawing rolls is 1:3.5 or 1:4, although it is understood that any desired degree ofdraft may be obtained by adjusting the ratio of the peripheral speed of the retaining rolls to the drawing rolls.

' In the space intermediate the retaining rolls 5 and 6 and the drawing rolls 'I and 8, there` is provided a gill bed, generally vdesignated by the reference numeral I0( The gill bed comprises a plurality of gill bars II, each of the gill bars being vprovided with a plurality of gill pins I2. In the form shown, each gill bar II is provided with two rows of gill pins I2 arranged in staggered relationship. It is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to this precise arrangement and number of gill pins, since it is apparent that a greater or lesser number of gill pins, arranged in either a single or plurality of rows and either in parallel or staggered relationship, may be used. lilach gill bar, at each end thereof, is provided with a boss I3 which is designed to engage a groove of a high pitch spiral screw conveyer I4, which is driven in the usual manner (not shown). Itis to be understood that there is also provided a pair of high pitch screws, similar to' screws I4, in a plane beneath the plane occupied bythe screws I4. Normally, the lower pair of screws are of a higher pitch than the pitch ofthe screws I4, so that the gill bars may be transferred and elevated quickly to operative position. The screws I4 are driven so that the gill `bars during operative position will travel at a speed slightly in excess of the peripheral speed of the retaining rolls. Usually, the speed of travel of the gill bars is approximately 10% higher than the speed of the retaining rolls.

' The retaining rolls 5 and 6, the drawing rolls -`I andy 8, and the gill bed IB, aswell as the appurtenant driving mechanisms, are all of the stand- 'ard types common in gill drafting frames.

The gill bars II, as shown in Figure 2, are provided with a plurality of knives A to J inclusive, which are arranged in a triangular pattern. The spacing of the knives A to J inclusive relative to each other determines the extent of the staggered relationship of the staple fibers. The spacing of 'the correspondingly positioned knives A and A,

Band B, etc., determines the length of the staple. Thus, for example, if a stable fiber of 14' in length is desired, the distance between lthe Icorrespondingly positioned knives A and A, B and B, etc., is each 4", and the extent to which the bers are staggered is the distance l`between the knives A and B, B and C, etc. Thus,

for example, if this overlap isdesired to be l/i, the distance `between the knives A and B, B and Obviously, the length of the to produce the desired results. Since the distance determines the length of the staple, it is clear that any length staple may be obtained. Likewise, any degree of staggering can be obtained.

Though in Figure 2 the knives are shown as arranged in a pattern of a triangle and will produce staple of 4substantially uniformv lengths arranged in staggered (triangular) relationship, the invention is not restricted to such a precise pattern. In Figure 7, the knives are arranged in a diagonal pattern. It is to be understood that the patterns of the knives on the gill bars are not restricted to the two illustrative embodiments shown in Figures 2 and 7, since it is obvious that the knives may be arranged to produce staple fibers of any predetermined lengths and in accordance with any pattern desired. Each knife I5 comprises a body portion I5 and a triangular portion which is provided withY the cutting edge Il. Theknives may be supported onthev gill bars in various manners. As shown in Figure 3, each knife may be provided with a plurality of pins I8 which may bev inserted in the holes which normally receive the gill pins I2. Alternatively, each knife I5 may be providedwith a tongue I9 which'is inserted in a corresponding groove formed in one of the faces of the gill bar. When the knives are madenof heavy steel, for example that used in the manufacture of hacksaw blades, they may be secured, as by soldering, to the face of the gill bar, as shown in Figure 5'. Another modification of providing the gill bars with the knives in accordance with the instant invention is shown in Figure 6. In vthis embodiment, each knife I5 is positioned in a clip 20 which 4is provided `with rings 22 on the rear face thereof and which are designed to slip over the gill pins I2. The front portion 24 of the clip 20 serves as a compression spring and thereby Asecurely holds each knife in position. A depression or tongue 26 formed in the clip 20 cooperates with a hole (not shown) in the knife to more securely yhold the knife in position.

The height of the knives I5 Vis such that when a faller bar is elevated from inoperative position Ato operative position, the knife will engage and transversely cut the tow engaged thereby. The shape of the knives and the effective width and position of the cutting edgeor edges thereof relative to the gill :pins is in part dependenton the size ofthe tow, the degree of drafting, and the material constituting the tow, Thus, the top edge of the knives may be in alignment with or above orbelow the tops of the gill pins. In one embodiment, satisfactory results are obtained when, in `the triangular knife shown, the angle between the knife edges I1 vis approximately not less than 60, such as, for example, and the tip of the knife at the apex thereof is in alignment with or slightly below the tips of the gill pins, as in Figures 3, 4 and 5, or slightly above the tips of the gill pins, as shown in Figure 6, g

In operation, a plurality of ends 2 of rayontow .are fed to the gill drafting frame. As the tow is ,fed from the retaining lrolls 5and 5, each of the knives on the faller bar, which is'elevated into operative position, engages and severs the portion of the tow contacting therewith. In manyin.-

with the cutting, the drawing rolls draw orelongate the sliver, the gill pins aiding in this operation by imposing a retaining or holding action on the bers. It is to be noted that during the operations of producing and drawing the sliver the latter is continuous with the tow and the parallel arrangement of the fibers is not destroyed. From the drawing rolls l and 8, the resulting rayon top passes through a condenser or trumpet 28, wherein the top is laterally compressed or condensed particularly to remove the feather edge obtained in the preceding operation. The laterally compressed top, upon leaving the trumpet, passes between a driving roll 30 and a pressure roll 32 constituting condensing or compacting rolls which, after compaoting and condensing the top, delivers it into .the berboard can 34, which is given an oscillatory movement in order to uniformly lay the top in the can.

Although the invention has been described with reference to an open gill drafting frame, it is equally applicable to intersecting gill frames, in which case the knives may be affixed to either the lower or upper faller bars or to both.

Since it is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the above description without departing from the nature or spirit thereof, this invention is not restricted thereto except as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for directly converting tow to top while maintaining the substantial parallelism of the fibers and the continuity of the tow and sliver, which comprises a gill drafting frame having a plurality of gill bars, each of said gill bars being provided with a plurality of gill pins,

a plurality of knife holders removably disposed on said gill pins in accordance with a predetermined pattern, and a knife positioned in and carried by each of said knife holders.

2. An apparatus for directly converting tow to top while maintaining the substantial parallelism of the fibers and the continuity of ythe tow and sliver, which comprises a gill drafting frame having a plurality of gill bars, each of said gill bars being provided with a plurality of gill pins, a plurality of knife holders, each of said knife holders having ears on the rear thereof to cooperate with the gill pins whereby said knife holders are removably disposed on said gill pins, each of said knife holders having a clip and a knife positioned in each of said clips, said knife holders being arranged in accordance with a predetermined pattern.

3. An apparatus for directly converting tow to top while maintaining the substantial parallelism of the fibers and the continuity of the tow and sliver, which comprises a gill drafting frame having a plurality of gill bars, each of said gill bars being provided with a, plurality of gill pins, a plurality of knife holders, each of Said knife holders having ears on the rear thereof to cooperate with the gill pins whereby said knife holders are removably disposed on said gill pins, each of said knife holders having a spring clip and a knife positioned in each of said clips, said knife holders beng arranged in accordance with a predetermined pattern.

JOSEPH B. RUMSEY. 

